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Wellbeing โค๏ธ

Take care and prevent an activist burnout
6 min read
Last update: Apr 17, 2024
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In this chapter, we explain how prevent burning out by taking care of yourself and others. We discuss group wellbeing, action wellbeing and self-help.

๐Ÿ†˜ Need help now? Check out Wellbeing Hotlines

Chapter quality: โญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธ (3/5)

Introduction

Being an activist can be rewarding, but also challenging and stressful. You may face many pressures and risks, such as burnout, trauma, harassment, or violence. That's why it's important to take care of your wellbeing and mental health, not only for yourself, but also for your cause and your community. In this guide, we will share some tips and resources on how to practice self-care, cope with stress, and seek support when you need it. We hope this guide will help you to stay healthy, resilient, and effective in your activism.

Why is wellbeing important?

Group wellbeing

Articles about wellbeing practices that you can implement as a group:

Three goats taking care of each other

Together, we are more resilient, by Joppe | Generated using Dall-e

Action wellbeing

Articles about wellbeing practices that you can implement during your actions:

An elephant holding a first aid kit

A caring elephant with a first aid kit, by Joppe | Generated using Dall-e

Self-help

Articles for individuals that want to take care of their own wellbeing:

Special publications

Articles that have been written to cover special issues that are currently relevant (also make sure to check out campaigns that we support):

Local context

Activists who work for social change often face challenges and risks that can affect their wellbeing. However, the local context across countries can also impact how activists cope with these challenges and access support. Some of the factors that can influence the wellbeing of activists in different contexts are:

  • The political and legal environment: Activists may face different levels of repression, censorship, surveillance, harassment, intimidation, or violence from the state or other actors depending on the country they operate in. This can create a climate of fear, stress, and insecurity that can undermine their mental and physical health. Activists may also have different degrees of freedom and protection to express their views, organize, mobilize, or access justice and legal aid.

  • The social and cultural norms: Activists may encounter different expectations, values, beliefs, or stereotypes from their families, communities, or society at large depending on the country they live in. This can affect their sense of identity, belonging, or acceptance as well as their relationships and social support networks. Activists may also face different forms of discrimination, stigma, or marginalization based on their gender, sexuality, ethnicity, religion, or other aspects of their identity or work.

  • The availability and accessibility of resources: Activists may have different opportunities and challenges to access resources that can enhance their wellbeing depending on the country they work in. This can include financial resources, such as funding, grants, or donations; material resources, such as equipment, tools, or infrastructure; human resources, such as staff, volunteers, or allies; and informational resources, such as data, evidence, or knowledge. Activists may also have different options and barriers to access services that can support their wellbeing, such as health care, education, counseling, or therapy.

  • The diversity and solidarity of the activist community: Activists may have different experiences of working with other activists within or across movements depending on the country they collaborate in. This can affect their sense of solidarity, trust, cooperation, or learning as well as their exposure to conflicts, tensions, or competition. Activists may also have different levels of diversity and inclusion within their movements based on the representation and participation of different groups and perspectives.

These factors can shape how activists perceive and respond to the challenges and risks they face as well as the strategies and practices they adopt to take care of their wellbeing. Therefore, it is important to understand and respect the local context across countries when supporting activists' wellbeing and to tailor the support according to their specific needs and realities.

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Q&A

Why is wellbeing important?

This chapter is meant as a guide on how to safeguard the wellbeing of activists. In the process of trying to make a change, you might forget about your own wellbeing. You will learn how why the wellbeing of you and your fellow change-makers is vital for the long term effectiveness of your movement.

Many activists struggle with their mental and physical health, or see how the wellbeing of fellow change-makers is affected by activism. You might experience stress because you feel your contributions do not create any significant change. You might feel disappointed with yourself for not doing enough, or you feel helpless because others are not doing enough. You might fear being infiltrated by police or oppositional activists groups, and are not sure anymore who to trust.

This chapter is about acknowledging those difficulties and providing help for those who need it. In addition, we will talk about how to prevent mental and physical health issues. As so well put by Hรฅkan Geijer: โ€œBe gentle with each other so we can be dangerous together.โ€

Case studies

This section still needs to be written! What case studies can you provide of real-life good and bad examples of activists taking care of themselves and others, and also more profoundly developing regenerative, supportive cultures in activist groups and movements? This can include good examples of conflict resolution.

Improve this page

You can contribute: Whatever your experiences as activist are, they are valid and deserve to be heard. We want to provide the opportunity for people all over the world to share exchange their experiences. This way we can learn from each other and find comfort in our welcoming community.

Please make sure to treat each other with respect and dignity. You are free to share your experiences anonymously, if that makes you feel more comfortable. Find out more about how to contribute.

Focus

  • Write about topics that lots of people have questions about:

    • eco/climate anxiety, climate depression

    • activist burnout

    • activism fatigue

  • Collect the most valuable resources on climate anxiety

  • Topics not covered a lot yet: Culture, Spirituality, Community

  • Make wellbeing guides more science-based (perhaps interview psychologists that have experience with activism?)

Search keywords

Search keywords

Monthly global searches*

Relevancy

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0

high

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260

high

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180

high

climate anxiety

4.4K

high

eco anxiety

5.4K

high

climate depression

480

high

riot medicine

40

high

negative effects of activism

70

high

positive effects of activism

50

high

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0

high

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0

high

How to deal with burnout

4.3K

low

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10

high

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0

high

active listening

86.7K

low

self-care tools for activists

40

high

mental health resources for activists

10

high

activism fatigue

110

high

*According to Semrush

External resources

Spirituality and Community Building

Diversity & inclusivity

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